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An inviting trap created by our modern-day financial system, credit cards can be harmful to you financial health.

Buying something using a credit card is not bad, IF you have the income to pay the credit card balance in full when the statement arrives.

However, buying with a credit card when you don't have enough cash, means you are committing your future income to the credit company with the threat of a black mark on your credit rating. That is financial slavery.

During the past several years, debt consolidation experts have assisted a lot of people to escape from the credit card trap with debt relief programs. That says a lot about how bad the situation is. Assisting people to do this is frowned upon by the credit lenders; they lose all that profitable interest. The credit companies take counter measures to hook consumers back in by offering 0% percent interest for some period of time.

Are they really giving you 0% interest? Only if you can pay off the debt in advance of the expiration date of the offer. What they are hoping is that you will NOT have the ability to pay it off.

What happens if you can't pay? Carefully read the fine print details on their 'Terms and Conditions' agreement. Many agreements have a relatively low interest rate in big print; 9.99% to 12.99% is fairly standard. But, watch out for variable rates, because that means it is the 'lower' rate PLUS the 'prime rate.' The prime rate is what the banks are charging the credit company which then gets charged to you. This alone can add a staggering 6 - 9% on top of that attractive interest rate.

Read further and the rest of the trap is revealed. If you pay late or miss a payment, they have the right to increase the interest rate to as much as 39%. IN ADDITION, they are allowed to add an additional $25 - 39 in fees. On a $1,000 balance, that is $52 - 66 a month in interest and fees you must pay before you pay even one dollar on the price of the item you charged.

What other tricks do the credit card companies have in their tool kit to make sure they continue to make interest money from you?

That enticing 'minimum payment' they allow you to make which is mostly interest, and keeps you paying for whatever you bought for about 20 years. Second, the credit companys are now using invitations to get money back from stores or earn airline miles for each dollar you spend.

Who do you think is paying for those credits? You do! The stores pay the credit companies for the cash they give you back, and the stores raise their prices to cover the cost.

The credit companys pay the airlines a tiny amount for each airline mile they 'give' you when you charge an item on the credit card. In an NBC TV news interview in January 2007, the president of a major airline stated it only costs the airline company $10 to fly you somewhere after you have earned 25,000 air miles to take a flight.

Who actually benefits financially if you charge up your credit cards to earn a 'free' flight? It should be obvious that trap is disguised as a huge benefit to you.